


Beginnings

by Duganator01



Series: Moonage Daydream [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Space, Crash Landing, Gen, Head Injury, Hurt Jaune Arc, Hurt/Comfort, Lie Ren is a good bro, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25555135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duganator01/pseuds/Duganator01
Summary: Life at the Academy was stifling, with the expectations of his family hanging over his head everywhere he went. He had to get out.Had to get out there, in the universe, where it was full of shine and sparkle and his life could really mean something. Through the window of his dorm room, Jaune could see the glitter of the stars, a million worlds populated by billions of people.People in danger, maybe, who he could help. Who he couldn’t help from his dorm room. Out there in the real world, where something new and amazing and dangerous could finally begin.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Lie Ren
Series: Moonage Daydream [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851859
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Sketchy Departure

**Author's Note:**

> The firestorm ignites last thoughts of a life by candlelight. I'd gladly give my life for one night as a justice acolyte

Jaune stared at the note he had left for Sapphron on his pillow. It wasn’t much. Just an apology and an explanation of where he was going. Staring at it, though… He felt anger building inside him. He grabbed it and tore it up, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

If his older sister wanted to know where he was, then she could ask.

He glanced outside his dorm room, making sure no one else was out past curfew. Then he stepped outside, carrying all his personal items and a small assortment of rations in a bag on his back. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough to get him back home.

As he quickly walked towards the docks, thoughts raced through Jaune’s mind. This was what was best, right? With his grades dropping and the scholarship being pulled, there was no way he could keep going to the Academy.

 _‘You could always work hard and get your grades back up,’_ something inside of him whispered, but Jaune pushed the thought aside. He was sick and tired of being the only Arc who wasn’t good at everything. The pressure to live up to others’ expectations for him felt smothering.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he had stopped putting effort into his classes ages ago. His grades had been going downhill for months, and his perfect attendance score had become… well.. A lot less perfect.

It wasn’t that Jaune hated being here. He loved flying. And it had turned out he wasn’t even that bad at it,after he’d gotten over his near-debilitating motion sickness. It was just… all these people expecting him to be something he wasn’t. Expecting him to stay at the top, all while plodding through each day doing things he hated.

It was just wrong.

Jaune needed something different.

The docks were silent when he arrived, and the only security guard on detail was fast asleep. Jaune slipped inside the pod nearest to the exit.

He turned on his vessel, the engine purring silently. He’d always hated these things. The controls were awkward and allowed for little actual pilot control. The fuel was inefficient, the steering relied too much on auto-pilot, and they always smelled like sweat.

Luckily, that meant the GAAP wouldn’t miss on if it happened to go missing.

* * *

“Log Date… Uh… I don’t remember how to do this, part three. There’s a planet in sight. I’m hoping I can land there before this piece of trash runs out of fuel. Hopefully there’s civilization there that has transports headed back home. Um, yeah. Signing out.”

Jaune leaned back in his seat, cringing as his stomach rumbled. He should have packed more rations. It had been three days since he’d left the Academy, and rations were low. He only had a few nutrition bars left, and his water was down to a few gulps.

The dashboard beeped, yet again reminding Jaune that he was running low on fuel.

Jaune closed his eyes tight. At this point, he’d be happy if he crashed.

* * *

Jaune was not happy when he crashed.

It had happened so fast. One moment he was entering the planet’s atmosphere, the next alarms were blaring and flames were streaming out of the left engine. He braced for impact… and then something hit his head and everything went dark.

When he finally woke up, red lights were flashing from the dash, and his ears were ringing. Something sticky trickled down his forehead, and his shoulder was on fire. Pain was pulsing up from Jaune’s arm. Everything felt numb and far away, but the longer he sat there, the sharper it became. The sharper it became, the more Jaune wanted to go back to sleep.

He groaned, looking down at his arm. It twisted in a position it definitely was not supposed to be in. Gingerly pushing the sleeve up, swearing every time the fabric touched his skin, he looked it over.

It could be worse. No bone sticking through the skin. Just bruising and the awkward angle. It was broken, that much he could tell. Basic medical classes back at the Academy told him to put it into a splint, since there was no bone visible.

His shoulder on the other hand…

Every time he moved was pure agony. It was dislocated. That was something he was something he was going to have to fix before he could move. Jaune had never done this before, but it couldn’t be that bad… right?

Jaune positioned himself against the dash, holding his shoulder with his good hand. One big breath in and… he pushed.

It snapped back into place.

Jaune screamed.

* * *

He had landed on Talbos Prime. Facts Oobleck had drilled into his mind in class floated through his pain-delirious brain. Dominant species: Nuxoin, an omnivorous species. Main export: Lumber and other natural resources. The entire planet was forest and a few freshwater seas. If he weren’t in so much pain, Jaune might have actually appreciated the scenery surrounding him.

Jaune had managed to get himself bandaged up, propping his arm with a splint kit. It wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing. Looking over his injuries, he was glad for once that his dad wasn’t human.

Blood already soaked the bandages on his leg, and the ones on his head were going to need to be replaced soon. It was obvious the crash would have likely killed him had he been completely human. Having a slightly thicker skull than normal humans, with the ability to replenish blood faster, was coming in handy in this sucky situation.

It still sucked though.

With the medical kit intact, he’d be able to keep himself alive until the ship was fixed. The ship was definitely fixable, but he would have to get to work soon if he wanted it to fly again. Talbos Prime didn’t have many populated towns, and the closest was over a day’s travel away. He wouldn’t make it.

Jaune readjusted the splint on his broken arm and set to work.

As much as Jaune hated these scrappy ships, they held their shape pretty well. He wouldn’t need to fix much, but what he did need to fix was time consuming. Hours passed as he worked. The first sun set and the second rose. A few of the local wildlife gathered to watch him at him at one point. 

He paid them no mind, hardly noticed them in fact with how engrossed he was in his work. When Jaune finally managed to focus on a task, he was focused.

The ship was already looking in better condition as the final sun disappeared below the horizon. Sealant held the tears in the wing together and covered the multiple cracks that littered the surface of the front window. The burnt engine parts had been replaced, and the fuel was slowly refilling. Thank god for GAAP adaptability fuels. As long as the planet had some form of fuel in the atmosphere, he could slowly refill.

Jaune sat inside the ship now, struggling to screw a panel back in. The screwdriver fumbled in his hand, dropping below the dash.

“Fuck! Where’d you go now?” He cursed the tool as he bent over and peered below himself.

He reached for it, but in doing so pulled his injured arm. He gasped in pain, recoiled back and held it to himself. Once it faded, he stared at the screwdriver with hatred. It was like it was mocking him. Too weak to grab a stupid tool. Too useless.

“I’m not weak,” Jaune growled at it.

He lowered himself down gently, wincing through the pain. He took the tool and finished screwing in the panel.

“Not too bad, Jaune,” he said, smiling at the interior of his ship. Only two more flashing lights to stop, and then he’d be homeward bound again. “Jaune Arc: Pilot, part-time mechanic, full-time genius.”

* * *

_“Arc?” the flight instructor called, sounding incredibly bored._

_A young Jaune stepped forward, looking confident and eager. The instructor sighed and opened the top of the small ship. The model looked and functioned similar to most GAAP standard single person vehicles, but was unable to reach half the altitude of the real things. Jaune clambered inside, trying his hardest not to fall over on his first day._

_“Just a few laps,” the instructor ordered, glancing at her clipboard, “and then land here. Remember, this is the real test. You will be scored on your take-off, speed, control, and, finally, landing. This test is the true determinant to see if you make it into the GAAP Academy. Do your best, and good luck out there, future pilot of the Galactic Assembly of Allied Planets.”_

_Jaune grinned nervously, giving his sister a thumbs up as the top closed over him._

_It was easy. The test flew by in a blur of whoops and speed. Jaune had been flying since he could reach the controls, as soon as he’d realised that at least there was one thing he was solidly good at._

_As he approached landing, he felt tempted to show off. Just a little wouldn’t hurt… right?_

_He increased the speed._

_Just before it became too late, Jaune pulled up on the controls. The ship groaned under the sudden change, but it obeyed him. Gently, he set the ship down in front of his classmates. He hopped out with a grin._

_The instructor looked furious._

_“Arc!” She stomped towards him. “That was reckless and dangerous! Your flying was beyond GAAP regulations. I am surprised you made it past the entrance exams.”_

_Jaune clenched his fists, “I’m the best pilot in my class, ma’am. My transcripts prove that.”_

_“Not when you fly like that,” She scorned. “Report to your commander.”_

_Jaune turned and stalked away, anger clawing in his gut. He was a great pilot. He knew what he was doing._

* * *

Jaune ruffled his regulation-short hair and let it fall evenly over the bandages wrapped around his forehead. He was sitting outside of the ship, popping berries into his mouth as he waited for the fuel to fill back up. He figured out before he left that these ones were safe, and harvested enough to fill a small container he’d found on the ship. “Berries blue; good for you,” he hummed through a mouthful of the sweet treat.

The ship beeped and blinked to life, only slightly more jittery than it had been at the Academy.

“There you go, you piece of junk,” Jaune sighed, getting to his feet to pat the nose of the ship. “Now we can go home.”

The ship rumbled as he took off, but Jaune wasn’t about to complain about the ship now. It was certainly better than staying on Talbos Prime and paying off a Velm to not steal his last tank of fuel.

See you never again, Talbos Prime, Jaune thought as the forest planet faded into the space behind him. From now on, it was smooth sailing to Ventos Beta.

* * *

Two days

It was going to take him two days to get back.

Once the adrenaline of crashing, frantically trying to fix his ship, and getting off that planet had faded his body finally caught up with how badly he was actually damaged. He was quickly running out of bandages, and black spots were beginning to dance in his vision.

He looked back down to his arm. He couldn’t quite tell if he set the splint correctly, but at this point a poorly set arm was the least of his worries.

“Log date… uh… I don’t even know: I can’t help but shake the feeling that I’m slowly dying, which I probably am.” Jaune took a deep breath in, trying to not fall asleep then and there. “If I don’t put in another log tomorrow, I just wanna let anyone who’s listening to know that I’m sorry. Sorry, Mom. Signing off.”

He missed the off button several times before he finally hit it, bits of blackness taking up more and more of his vision. Leaning heavily into the chair, Jaune ran his good hand through his bloodstained hair, realizing he needed to change the bandages again.

* * *

“Log date, i-it doesn’t matter,” Jaune’s words were labored and his words often slurred together. “Ventos Beta…I can see it, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it in time,” He paused, taking a shuddering breath and putting a hand on his chest. The heartbeats themselves were rapid, yet they became progressively softer and less pounding than they were in the beginning. “I-I’m still sorry.”

Jaune didn’t even bother to say signing off, or even stop the recording.

* * *

_“Why don’t you go meet our new neighbor?” Jaune’s mother suggested._

_Her only son sank lower into the couch. His lower lip stuck out in a pout._

_“I heard they have a son in your year.”_

_Jaune let out a long sigh, and changed the channel on the projected screen again._

_“It’ll be good for you.”_

_He gave his mom a glance. She was staring back at him with a look that said “You are going to take these cookies and you are going to like it.”_

_Fine._

_Jaune took the cookies, trotting over to the door of his new neighbor’s house. He rang the doorbell and tapped his foot impatiently. If they didn’t answer in the next fifteen seconds he was going to-_

_Before Jaune could finish his thought, the door swung open. A teenage Graeldur boy stared down at Jaune, a single rocky eyebrow raised in confusion._

_Suddenly feeling very awkward, Jaune held out the plate of cookies. “My mom wanted me to bring these over as a housewarming gift,” he said._

_“Uh… thank you,” the Graeldur said, taking the plate. “My name’s Ren.”_

_“I’m Jaune.”_

_They stared at each, the awkward moment stretching out much longer than Jaune liked it. Ren finally looked down at the cookies, back behind him, and then back at Jaune._

_“My parents aren’t home,” he said after a moment of consideration, that Jaune spent shifting from one foot to the other. “Do you want to eat all of these with me?”_

_Jaune grinned, “Sure.”_

* * *

Jaune had never felt lonelier than he did now. Sitting in the pilot seat, watching the planet grow closer and closer, he felt like everything was collapsing in on him. He wanted his mom… oh god, his mom was going to be so mad at him. He could already hear his mom scolding him for being so reckless. He did completely deserve it, but that didn’t stop him from dreading it.

A sensor on the dashboard beeped at him, telling Jaune that he was ready to make contact.

The autopilot on the GAAP ships might be one of Jaune’s least favorite things, but now that he could barely use his limbs he was grateful. The ship lowered itself into an open field, gently setting down and then powering off.

Jaune just had to use whatever bit of strength he had left to hobble over to Ren’s place. Just get to Ren’s house. That was all that mattered.

The sky was dark when he left. Each footstep echoed back in Jaune’s brain and made the simple act of walking unbearable. By the time he made it to Ren’s front door, he could feel consciousness slowly slipping away from his grasp.

Leaning heavily against the doorframe, Jaune was able to give two, hard knocks. The few agonizing minutes it took for Ren to answer made Jaune want to let his muscles relax and slump down to the floor. In fact… he let himself slump farther down the frame. Oh, this was worse.

The handle jiggled a bit until the door opened with a far too loud creak. Jaune managed to look up, meeting his friend’s eyes.

“Oh my god…” Ren’s eyes went wide as he took in the state his friend was in, almost forgetting to breathe.

Jaune pushed what little trace of a smile he could onto his face, “Hey Ren.”

The world went black and numb.


	2. Safe Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune explains some things, Ren tries to understand, and they come to a decision

Jaune was back on the ship. Something beeped periodically, but no matter how much he searched the cockpit, he couldn’t find the source of the sound. His movements felt sluggish, like he was moving through a pool of jelly. The colors were either too bright or too muted. Perspective zoomed and faded. Everything felt like it was tipping over. Was he tipping over?

“…days now…”

Jaune’s head swiveled towards the sound. Ren? When had he gotten on the ship? He was on Ventos Prime. Not Talbos Prime. Unless he’d gotten mixed up in the crash…?

“… didn’t tell you anything?”

Jaune’s head turned to the other side of the cabin. Mom? She certainly wouldn’t be on the ship. She- she hated flying. Why would… why would she be here?

Jaune’s mind felt as slow as his movements. Exhausted, he let himself lean back in his seat. The beeping grew louder.

* * *

Everything hurt. Especially his arm. He groaned in pain and tried to sit up, but as soon as he did, what felt like several pairs of arms pushed him back down, and choruses of “Please, relax,” “Don’t strain yourself, Mr. Arc,” and “You’re gonna be okay.”

Jaune blinked his eyes open, flinching back against the bright hospital lights. God, he hated hospitals.

As his eyes adjusted, he could make out the figures of his mother, Ren, two nurses, and a doctor standing at the sides of his bed, all staring at him. He had a few IVs attached to his left arm, and his right arm was completely bound in a translucent fluorescent green cast. Little nanobots moved around his broken arm, going into it to fix the bone. Something was wrapped around his head, but he couldn’t tell what.

Despite the results of the previous attempt’s results, Jaune tried to sit up again. “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice hoarse and nervous. “Where am I?”

The nurses gently pushed him back down again.

“His head was injured badly,” the doctor said, ignoring Jaune and turning to his mother and Ren. “He might be a little out of sorts for a couple of days. We’ll have to keep him here for a while, until then…”

Everything faded to black as the nurse turned up the IV drip.

* * *

_ “This isn’t a good idea,” Ren said, following Jaune carefully down the side of the canyon. _

_ “We’ll be fine,” Jaune insisted, nearly losing his footing again. “Trust me.” _

_ Ren didn’t, but that wasn’t going to stop him from making sure Jaune didn’t injure himself. Again. _

_ They were walking through the cliffs where everyone was specifically told not to go. The rocky trails had led to many accidents, and were regarded as dangerous. Jaune had never cared about danger, taking chances that often made Ren feel more like the responsible adult friend. _

_ Ren’s heart might have stopped for a second as Jaune started speeding down the trail. _

_ “What can be so exciting that you would risk dying and going against your mom’s instructions not to go down here under any circumstance?” Ren asked, trying his best to keep pace with his speedy friend. It was no use. Jaune was already far ahead of him. _

_ “You’ll see!” Jaune called from the bottom of the canyon. “Now hurry up!” _

_ Ren sighed and picked up his pace, jumping the last piece and landing next to Jaune. “Okay, show me, so we can get out of here without getting in trouble.” _

_ Jaune grinned and grabbed Ren’s wrist, pulling him behind him and through a crack in the canyon wall. The pair was plunged into darkness, and Ren was glad Jaune seemed to know where he was going. Suddenly, it was bright again. _

_ Jaune spun around and spread his arms wide, “Ta-da!” _

_ Ren gaped in awe, looking around the small cavern that had been invisible a moment before. A small pond sat at the center, and a crack in the ceiling let a beam of light illuminate the area. A few cliff birds chirped from their nests in the walls. Soft moss covered everything. _

_ “I thought it could be our secret hideout,” Jaune said, tossing his shoes and socks off and sticking his feet in the pond. It was so clear it was almost like glass. The ripples moved across the surface, shifting the water lilies on its surface. _

_ Ren followed suit, and the two let their feet drag in the shallow water. _

_ “I like the sound of that,” Ren said, his usually stoic face splitting into a wide grin. _

_ Jaune grinned back. _

* * *

Ren sat in the chair in Jaune’s hospital room, watching his friend with eyes full of worry. Jaune had woken up several times, still mostly dazed and panicked. With the nanobots working to fix his body, and his brain, he was having horrible nightmares. Mostly he just whimpered, but sometimes he called out for Ren… for his mom… for anyone. It hurt Ren seeing his friend so… so afraid.

He knew Jaune was reckless, but this was something else. What could have possibly caused Jaune to so suddenly just abandon the Academy? He’d worked so hard to get in, and from their correspondences, Ren knew Jaune was a promising student with high grades and a near perfect attendance.

Unless that too had been a lie.

Ren snapped to attention as Jaune stirred in his bed. When Jaune didn’t move again, he leaned back again.

When Jaune had shown up at Ren’s door just a few days ago, Ren hadn’t known what to think. He hadn’t even had time to think between rushing Jaune to the hospital, calling his mother, and talking to what felt like twenty different nurses and doctors. Now that things had slowed down… Ren was just trying to make sense of it all.

Jaune had always told him everything that was bothering him. He should have known something was wrong when Jaune stopped messaging him as often two months ago. He should have called, checked on his friend, made sure everything was really alright.

Can’t change any of that now, he thought, letting his eyes drift closed. What’s happened has happened. For now, he just had to make sure Jaune recovered. Talking could come later.

* * *

Ren watched from a distance as Jaune’s mother yelled at him in that way only mothers could. Jaune nodded along, apologizing and promising to “never do something so reckless again.”

Maybe it was just Jaune still being tired, but he didn’t seem that focused on what his mother was saying. It felt more like Jaune was focused on something else. He knew that stubborn look in Jaune’s eye, and he’d known Jaune long enough to know that was never a good thing. But maybe he was just imagining things.

Ren really wanted to be imagining things.

* * *

_ “Jaune, it’s nothing,” Ren said anxiously, having to pick up his pace to keep up with his friend. “Really, I’m fine.” _

_ Jaune didn’t stop. “It’s not ‘fine.’ I’m not going to sit back while these idiots treat you like crap because of me.” _

_ Ren felt himself come to a stop as Jaune marched on. There was that fiery determination in his eyes. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing, especially anyone who would even try and hurt someone Jaune cared for. _

_ Anyone trying to hurt Jaune himself, that he could brush aside. But he’d never been able to stop himself from through himself in harm’s way to protect the people he cared about. _

_ Ren was far enough away that he only caught a few words. The one’s he did hear, he hated. _

_ “You’re nothing, half-breed,” one of them snapped. _

_ “Ren would be better off with us than with a filthy grett like you,” the other added, spitting on Jaune’s face. _

_ Ren flinched when one of the boys pushed Jaune backwards. Jaune said something that made the boys' faces twist with anger. Jaune managed to dodge the first few punches, but they were bigger than him, and he’d never been that good in a fight.  _

_ It wasn’t long before they had punched him out. Ren started running towards them the moment Jaune got punched, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop them from giving him a few kicks to the stomach. _

_ They sneered at Ren before running off. _

_ Ren grabbed Jaune, throwing him over his shoulder and rushing him back to his house.  _

_ A few days later, Ren was allowed to see Jaune again in the hospital. Bandages were wrapped around Jaune’s chest, and his arm was held delicately in a sling. _

_ “I really showed them, huh?” Jaune asked, laughing. _

_ Ren started to chuckle too before he noticed Jaune buckle in pain. _

_ “Broken ribs,” Jaune said, smiling tensely at Ren. “The nanobots are still working at fixing them.” _

_ “You are going to get yourself killed one of these days,” Ren shook his head, half teasing. The other half seriously worried that Jaune would one day get himself killed. _

_ “No, I won’t,” Jaune responded. “You won’t let me.” _

* * *

Jaune never explained why he dropped out, and Ren didn’t push. After Jaune got out of the hospital, he had to stay home for a week to recover fully. Ren took it upon himself to make sure that Jaune actually recovered and didn’t go try and steal another ship.

Spending so much time with Jaune, he saw the difference.

He knew low grades and a pulled scholarship weren’t the real reasons Jaune had stolen a ship and almost died just to get back to Ventos Beta.

Usually he was a joking, amicable, upbeat person, but when Ren was talking to him, Jaune felt more reserved. Like he wasn’t really there. Once or twice, he even snapped at Ren before immediately apologizing and laughing it off as “just tired” or “cabin fever.”

Ren knew something was wrong, and it wasn’t whatever Jaune was blaming it on.

As soon as Jaune could leave, he did. Ren felt like a lost dog, trailing uselessly behind him. He wasn’t usually so focused, and Ren began to be even more worried when Jaune’s trail led down to the docks.

“It just feels good to see real ships again,” Jaune said when Ren asked him why they were there. “They hardly let us get near the big ones back there.”

That was another thing. Jaune never said ‘The Academy’ anymore. Always just ‘them’ and ‘back there’ and ‘my dorm,’ and never with any fondness. In all the years Ren had known Jaune, he’d never heard him refer to something with such contempt.

“Bad memories,” Jaune said, smiling reassuringly. “It’s in the past now.”

The only thing stronger than his anger at the Academy, it seemed, was Jaune’s anger at himself. Every time a headache made him have to slow down, or his arm started hurting again, Ren noticed him become frustrated and seething.

“I’m fine,” he’d insist stiffly, avoiding eye contact with Ren.

“Just tell me what’s wrong,” Ren said finally. “I want to help.”

But Jaune only brushed him off and walked down to the docks again. It wasn’t like Jaune to bottle things up, and Ren was half convinced his head injury had done something more than make him delirious for a few days.

Eventually though, Ren had to go back to work, and he couldn’t keep a constant watchful eye on Jaune. While he trusted Jaune’s mother, he knew she wouldn’t be willing to follow her son all over the city every day until he finally returned home late in the evening.

When he was able to visit though, Ren spent his time with Jaune trying to pry more information out of him without pressing his friend too much. It felt like he was interrogating a rock.

* * *

The day Jaune got his cast off, he was out of the house almost as soon as they got back from the hospital. Ren started to follow, but Jaune turned and stopped him.

“I’ll be back later,” Jaune said, but something in his voice told Ren otherwise. He wasn’t meeting Ren’s eyes.

A few minutes after Jaune left, Ren followed. He knew where Jaune had gone.

The docks were filled with people. Traders, scavengers, GAAP agents, and regular citizens. Finally, after almost half an hour of searching, he spotted Jaune. He was talking to someone. Handing that someone a card. Shaking hands. Stepping onto a ship.

Ren ran forward, shoving his way through the crowd, “Jaune!”

He saw Jaune freeze and start to turn towards Ren before stopping himself. Jaune didn’t want to look back.

Ren’s hand caught the door just before it finished sliding shut, and he forced it back open. Once he slipped inside, it slid shut behind him and beeped cheerfully. He took a step forward, and alarms suddenly started blaring around him, lights flashing red.

Jaune appeared just as suddenly at the end of the hallway, his face going from confused to upset.

“I told you not to follow,” Jaune said, pressing a button and turning off the alarms. “This isn’t… this isn’t smart.”

“I was not going to let you run off and get yourself hurt again,” Ren replied, folding his arms across his chest.

“Who made you the protector of me?” Jaune snarked, folding his arms in turn and standing his ground.

“Me,” Ren said. “Because I care about you, and you are not thinking clearly.”

Jaune heaved a sigh and leaned up against the wall of the ship. “Sure. Okay.”

“You have to talk about this eventually,” Ren said, taking another step forward. Jaune stared him down, but he was wavering. “I need to know what is going on. What’s wrong?”

Jaune looked back at his friend, steely determination melting into frustration.

“I couldn’t stay there any more,” Jaune began, looking down at his feet. “There was always this pressure to be the best, and for a long time, I think everyone thought I was. The best at flying, at least. Even if I got in trouble for my methods all the time.”

Ren knew that. Jaune had often called him, upset that the instructors didn’t let him fly how he knew how to fly.

Jaune continued, his knuckles white and his jaw tight. “It got suffocating. My teachers didn’t push me. They either gave up or thought I knew everything so why bother. Everyone looked up to me as this perfect student who could do no wrong, and I hated it, because it was such a  _ lie _ . I felt like I had to live up to their expectations for my family, and if I failed, they’d hate me. I didn’t want those expectations. I just wanted to blend in, not be forced into the spotlight.”

Jaune gripped his arm tight, digging his fingers into the fabric of his sleeve. “So I stopped trying. I stopped doing my homework. I skipped class. I cheated on tests I already knew the answers to or just didn’t complete them at all. 

“I let my grades drop. When— The day they sent me a notice, saying they were going to pull my scholarship, I started packing right away. I hid the letter from Sapphron, and kept my plan a secret from her. Once I had everything planned out, I ran away. I stole one of the student ships that they use for short flights around the school and left. I crashed on Talbos Prime a couple days later. That’s when I—”

Jaune glanced down at his recently healed right arm. “Yeah. I did my best to keep myself alive while I fixed the ship, but I think my anger at crashing kept me alive better than any bandages or medicine. Once I got off of Talbos Prime, I flew back here, and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

There was a moment of silence between them as the story sunk in. Then Ren closed the space between them. He pulled Jaune into a tight hug, making sure to be careful of Jaune’s arm.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, pulling away. “We could have talked about this, or at least found a better way for you to leave the Academy than running away on a stolen ship.”

Jaune shrugged. “I needed to do this on my own,” he said. “I had to make a decision for myself instead of just letting myself drift through life without a purpose. I couldn’t stay here either. If I stay here… I stay stagnant. I become a farmer or I just… ugh, Ren there is nothing here for me!”

He met Ren’s eyes with fury. “As much as I love Ventos Beta, my life isn’t going to go anywhere here. It’s out there! Out among the stars!” Jaune’s eyes lit up as he spoke, passion building. “I want to see new worlds! I want to meet strange species, make new friends, learn new things! I can’t do that here, or at the Academy. I need to do this, Ren. You have to understand.”

Ren shook his head, and Jaune’s face fell.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever understand you,” he began, “but I’m not going to stay on Ventos Beta and let you go out there and probably die.”

Jaune’s excitement began to return. “Wait, really? You want to come with me?”

“Someone has to watch your back,” Ren chuckled. And there’s nothing left for me here, he added silently to himself.

Alright,” Jaune said, already beaming. “I guess this is our ship then?”

Ren allowed a smirk to crawl onto his face. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of the prologue. More coming soon, so keep an eye out for that!

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of a hopefully long running series. God I love space so much


End file.
